Charming upscale accommodation in Rioja Wine Region, Spain. The best location to discover Northern Spain: wineries, modern architecture, Medieval quaint villages, the best restaurants, spas, etc....Indulge in the pleasures of slow good living with a glass of Rioja wine in your hand. Welcome to the pleasures of "la buena vida".
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miércoles, 22 de julio de 2009

Local festivities concentrate in the months of May, August and September.With the ocasion of The Virgin of August (15th), Sorzano celebrates a procession to the local hermit. It is a ritual called "subir al bollo", which could be translated as "climb the hill and get the bread roll"...indeed.

Step 1- The dancers and the walkers parade up the path to the hermit. Along with them goes the trickster, dressed in a colourful striped suit. It is a figure of pagan origin.

Step 2-Mass is celebrated. Which does not mean that it is attended.

Step 3-Bread rolls stuffed with chorizo are distributed to the people.

Step 4- Dancers lead the parade down the hill.

Step 5- ...the authorities follow, carrying a nice pie for the statue of the Virgin

Step 6- ...and Virgin Mary goes down the hill. In the village, the parade ends at the main church.

Every summer we reserve at least a couple of weeks for ourselves and our friends in Casa Josephine.

Time to relax, to wind down to a more "human" pace, to enjoy the time when life is easy and slow and to feel that worries get lighter if you simply take some distance.

Sorzano is at its very best from June to September. Days are long and bright and nights are cool, and the village is lively with the families that flee from the big cities to the place where they were born.

It is the time to enjoy the things we forget to enjoy when life gets hectic and absurd:

1) -Walks in the countryside:Sorzano is surrounded by orchards owned by the villagers. Late in the afternoon we follow the local fashion and take long strolls, chatting with the acquaintences we meet along, and stopping every now and then to eat fruit from the trees.

2)-The fruits of the earth:Plums, cherries, peaches, apricots, pears, apples, pumpkins, peppers, tomatoes and wild strawberries are in season from June to September. And then, fall starts with grapes and figs! Is this Eden?

3) Leisure:Time to dream, to make plans and to start projects. How about writing a poem? Or cutting pieces for a collage? Or designing the dreamed garden? Ideas bloom when time flows gently.

4)-Field trips:We ride our old car to near villages in the valley of Cameros or to the banks of River Ebro for a drink, a walk or a meal. And driving among vineyards, we wonder what this year's wine will taste like...

5)- Convivial life:The back door of our house opens onto a quiet public square. Like other locals, we take our chairs and tables out in the morning for a breakfast "al aire libre"....and they stay out for the whole day.

6)- A la fresca:And when the sun starts to fall, we enjoy "la fresca", regional name for the first hours of the evening, when temperatures fall and people go out for a last long chat with the neighbours.

All the photographs in this blog (unless specified otherwise) have been taken by us at Casa Josephine or its surroundings. We produce our own contents. You may use our pics and text, as long as you state where you took them from.